Who Killed Selena Quintanilla-Pérez

Selena Quintanilla-Pérez was known as the “Queen of Tejano” and remains an icon in the Latin music community two decades after her untimely death. On March 31, 1995, Selena was killed by her fan club president, Yolanda Saldívar.

Saldívar first became involved with Selena’s career when she volunteered to start a Selena fan club in San Antonio, Texas. Selena’s family was initially wary of Saldívar, but after her close ties to the local Latin music scene, the Quintanilla family allowed her to officially start the fan club in 1991.

In January 1995, Selena discovered that Saldívar had embezzled money from the fan club and a clothing boutique owned by Selena and her father. After initially denying the allegations, Saldívar agreed to hand over the missing financial documents at the Days Inn motel in Corpus Christi, Texas. When Selena and her father arrived, Saldívar was in possession of a .38 caliber revolver. Selena went out to the motel parking lot to call her husband and that is when Saldívar shot her once in the back and fled.

Selena was taken to a medical center nearby and was pronounced dead at 1:05 PM.

In July 1995, Saldívar was found guilty of first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison. After the sentence was handed down, a Texas jury requested that she serve a minimum of 30 years before being eligible for parole.

Yolanda Saldívar is currently serving her sentence in the Mountain View Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, and will be eligible for parole in 2025.